


Skating in Circles

by Lazchan



Series: Team Russia Family [3]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 09:44:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9650177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/pseuds/Lazchan
Summary: Viktor is home with a cold and Yuuri is unsure whether or not he'll be allowed in the 'Team Russia's' rink without his coach by his side.





	

Yuri was almost too quiet when he crept into the locker room, like he didn’t want to be noticed, but the Russian team was far too enamored with him still. It only took moments for Mila to wrap her arms around him from behind, giving him a fierce hug.

"Yuuri~" she tightened her grip before letting go. "You're later than normal for practice—" she looked around. "And I don't see Viktor … did he make you late?" she asked, her smile sly. "Is he still recovering?"

His entire face flushed red at her insinuation and he waved his hands quickly, trying to disabuse her of that notion right off. "No—no! Viktor is sick," he said. "A cold—so I told him to stay at home and rest. He .. he insisted that I still come here and practice." He looked down at his skates, uncertain. "Do… can I still skate in the part of the rink that you guys aren't using?" he asked quietly. "Or … I mean—I could go to another rink…"

She gave him a baffled look and shook her head. "You don't have to go anywhere and if anyone makes a fuss, I'll shut them up," she declared. "Even our grumpy little Yuri won't be able to say a word." She patted his head like he was the younger one and got up gracefully. "Don't run away," she ordered. "I better see you out there, practicing." He winced and nodded, watching her go.

Georgi had come in after Mila, with less energy than the exuberant redhead. His smile was sincere when he saw Yuuri sitting thereand Yuuri had learned enough Russian and to greet him, even if he was unsure that he got the words correct. He still thought that Georgi might appreciate the gesture. "Dobroye utro, Georgi."

Georgi's entire face lit up at Yuuri speaking in Russian, hands clasped to his chest. "You are doing so well!" he beamed. "I understood that this time. You are learning this all for Viktor—" A long, drawn out sigh and Yuuri hid a laugh that Georgi picked true love first out of practicality of being in a different country. "It is very krasivaya." He left Yuuri to puzzle out that word, as Georgi hummed under his breath and moved to the rink. 

Viktor had kicked up a fuss when Yuuri said he'd stay home to take care of his fiancée, but Viktor was firm that Yuuri still needed to train, even without Viktor there to watch over every move. _"Just don't try anything too crazy and you'll be fine,_ " he had teased, even with his cheeks red from rubbing below his eyes and his wastebasket filled with discarded tissues. _"I don’t want you slacking off just because I'm sick."_

That was easy for him to say, but Yuuri would have to find a part of the rink that Yakov wasn't using for his skaters. He glanced towards the door again, biting his lip. Viktor didn't absolutely say that he had to go to _this_ rink and he'd skated in other rinks in St. Petersburg before, smaller ones that had a small staff, who giggled at his attempt to speak Russian. Only Mila knew he was here and while she'd harp on him and tease him for days, he at least wouldn't be causing a problem. It was one thing when _his_ coach was there, but…

…but he didn't belong in with Yakov's group and the only reason why Viktor's coach had looked after him that one night was because Viktor had asked. He wasn't going to put _himself_ forward when he, as Viktor pointed out, could skate on his own. His mind made up, he stood up and grabbed his bag in one motion, heading towards the door. He turned his head for a moment when he heard Mila's peal of laughter and fast-paced Russian and walked straight into Yuri.

"Where are you going?" Yuri demanded, pushing past him. "I don't know if Viktor not being here has made you _that_ confused, but the rink is the other way." He pointed upward. "Look, there's even a sign in English for you to read." He gave Yuuri a once-over before his eyes narrowed. "You don't even have your skates on… and why are you carrying your bag?"

"I—I think I'll … " he fumbled for the words. Yuri probably knew him almost as well as Viktor did these days. "I'm going to go skate at another rink so that I don't interfere with your training." He kept his voice as firm as possible. "I'll just get in the way here."

"Did you hit your head?" Yuri asked slowly, staring at him as he pushed Yuuri back into the room as he made his way further inside, not even pausing. "The rink isn't your tiny thing from your hometown. It _is_ big enough to have you on the ice, like you were there yesterday."

Yuuri opened his mouth to protest, but Yuri was staring down at him as if he would physically pick Yuuri up and thrown him onto the ice, whether he was wearing ice skates or not. _Fine, I'll skate for awhile until Yakov gets annoyed with me and kicks me out. I can go back to take care of Viktor. He can't blame me if I tried._ "Fine," he said, mouth twisting downward as he reached for his skates again.

"There's a good little piggy," Yuri smirked and pointed to the bag. "Get your skates and gloves and I swear if I have to drag you out there—"

Yuuri huffed out a laugh at the threat. "You'll apparently have to get in line after Mila," he played with the zipper on his bag, wondering if he could fool Yuri the same way he did Mila, but Yuri had always been more tenacious in getting what he wanted. Yuri would watch him the entire time; he was more or less used to some of the stunts that Yuuri pulled.

"God, I know you better than that old hag," Yuri snorted. "She doesn't know that you were about to run out the door rather than face everyone." He poked at Yuuri. "Skates _now_." He grabbed the bag from Yuuri when he didn't move fast enough and pulled out his skates, holding his with the other hand and shoving Yuuri forward. "Don’t make me late for practice," he snapped.

Yuuri could only move under the force of Yuri's determination and made his way to the rinkside, before flopping down on a bench to put on his skates. He couldn't very well run _now_ , not with everyone looking at him and Mila giving him a smug smile. _It will just be for a little bit_ , he told himself firmly, lacing the skates tight, making sure nothing gave. He was soon forgotten as Yakov gestured for the others to come closer to him, his Russian too fast for Yuuri to even decipher part of the words. He waited until they started and then skated to the far side of the rink, where he and Viktor normally trained.

 _Breathe in_. _No one is watching you, they're doing their own thing._ He started his warm ups, slowing moving from a half turn to a full, letting each breathe dictate the next movement, getting the feel of the new ice underneath his blades. He could hear Yakov giving instructions in the background and the responses from the other skaters. It was a soothing background noise, familiar, even if the language was different from the previous rinks he skated at. _Back turn, back again… lunge—spin…_ he repeated the mantra in mind, trying to keep to his section of the ice, but it was harder when the others used the full length and gave him curious looks as they skated by.

He heard shouting in the distance and he wasn't thinking about it until Yuri skated up next to him, poking him hard and nearly jerking him out of a hold for a spin. He nearly sprawled and fumbled his stance, before taking a deep breath to take in the stiff, annoyed posture of the other. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Yakov has been shouting at you," Yuri snapped, "but the old man forgot your Russian is only limited to whatever you and Viktor speak, so I'm telling you for him to get over to where the rest of us are. He can either suck it up and speak to you in English or if he forgets all the important words, one of us will tell you."

"… I'm not one of his skaters," Yuuri frowned, but Yuri wasn't listening and towed him towards the main group, who were taking a break and watching the whole scene unfold with interest. "Yuri! If Yakov wants me to leave, just tell me—"

"Idiot," Yuri snapped. "If that was the case, I'd just tell you." He paused in front of Yakov, whose cheeks were an almost purple color as he pointed at Yuuri and then when he took a deep breath, Yuri spoke rapidly in Russian, gesturing to Yuuri and then back to Yakov.

Mila moved up next to Yuuri, laughing behind her hand. "Our little Yura is scolding Yakov for getting upset that you didn't understand him. He said that if you are going to shout, do it in English so that at least you learn something."

Yuuri's face turned red. "I didn't think he was trying to get my attention at all. I was…" He stared down at his skates, the rest of Yuri's rant finally trailing off and he wondered how much of it was a defense against him or a spate of insults.

"You were off in your own world as usual," Yuri turned his attention back to him. "Yakov said that even if Viktor isn't here, it's no excuse to be lazy with your skating." He fisted his hands on his hips. "Idiot—even I know you can skate better than you were with that practicing of yours. What was the deal?"

"I… didn't want to take up too much space?" Yuuri knew the excuse sounded weak and Yuri's expression agreed with him.

"Stop being a moron. You don't stick to that patch of ice when Viktor is here, there is no reason to do it when he isn't here." Yuri sighed and rubbed his head and gestured back to Yakov. "He has advice for you, now that he knows well enough to give it to you in English. Honestly, you would think that he never spoke to you in English the _first_ time he coached you, even if it was for a night…"

Yuuri rested a hand on his shoulder. "It's easy to forget," he said softly. "I didn't make that much of an impression on him." He turned to Yakov, missing Yuri's incredulous stare, before Mila and Georgi moved on either side of Yuri and pulled him away.

Yuuri stood steady on his skates as he waited for whatever Yakov wanted to lecture him about; in a way, it was very familiar. The set of the mouth, the assessing look—it was all very reminiscent of Viktor and it wasn't difficult to remember that Yakov had been Viktor's coach for almost his entire life. So whatever advice Yakov would give him, he would _listen_ this time, unlike before when he was too torn up over Viktor being gone to take care of Makkachin, too stubborn to think that he knew better.

Yakov didn't waste any time, dressing him down for his sloppy footwork and shaky legs, of trying to skate in tight circles when he needed to move around more—of how the transition to grab his leg for spins needed to be smoother—Yuuri took in all in, making mental notes and nodding with each rant, even letting go when Yakov slipped back into Russian when he got progressively angrier over this or that. When it came to a close, Yuuri was shocked when Yakov's voice quieted and he reached out a hand.

"What are you going to do when Vitya is competing again?" Yakov asked. "You both say that he will do both—but it is not as easy as you wish to think."

Yuuri swallowed hard, feeling the jagged spikes of panic rise back into his throat. He had thought about this, maybe more than Viktor had. He wasn't going to let Viktor go and to lose him as his coach; as close as they had come in _that_ respect, was enough to suck away the air from his lungs some nights. Neither was Viktor willing to leave him as a coach; Viktor enjoyed coaching in a way that he hadn't expected to and Yuuri could very well see him bringing on more students, other than just Yuuri.

Neither did he want Viktor to quit as a skater; even if it was for just one more season, they were both selfish enough to want both and Yuuri was at least aware enough to realize that without help, it was all going to collapse. "I know it won't be," he said, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible. "Viktor is… very confident, though," his lips turned up briefly, sharing the vague sense of a joke with Yakov who knew Viktor all too well.

"That child is too stubborn for his own good," Yakov sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I am asking this because I am offering to offer you advice alongside with Vitya, since he wants to become my student again as well." Yuuri's breath hitched in shock, but Yakov continued. "You listen well—when you at least hear me, and you are not the waste of time of a student I thought you were at first."

"Thank you?" Yuuri stared at him, unsure if it was meant to be a compliment or not; his younger self would have agreed wholesale with Yakov that he wasn’t worth the time that Viktor poured into him, but now, he was more than assured that he hadn't wasted anybody's time by continuing to skate and keeping Viktor with him as a coach.

"You need more confidence still, it seems," Yakov huffed. He turned Yuuri to the side, forcing him to watch Yuri go through the start of a routine, his expression intense as he moved into a complicated step sequence. "Do you think that Yura would have attacked me so viciously if he did not believe in you? " he asked quietly. "He has improved because you set a standard for him. He does not wish to be disappointed by you again."

 _Again_? Yuuri wasn’t about to ask that question out loud. There hadn't ever been a point where Yuri had looked up to him, had there? From the start, Yuri had been more talented…He didn't continue that line of thought, but just nodded along quickly. "…if you can help coach, I… I would appreciate it," he said softly. "I still don’t want to give up Viktor as my main coach, though."

"Vitya would mope for days if I brought that up," Yakov snorted, waving that away. "Coaching was better for him that I would have thought it would be. You … you gave him something with skating that existed outside of it as well." He looked wistful, as if remembering something from long ago. "You will tell this to him when you go home, but for now, act as if I _am_ your coach and none of this moping about yourself, sticking to corners of the rink that only children think is fine to practice in."

Yuuri opened his mouth again and then shut it, rubbing the back of his head. "Thank you," he said softly, and Yakov smiled briefly before raising his voice and shouting again, this time in English at the other skaters.

"Are you practicing your routines or gossiping?" he demanded. "You do not have time to chat, that is for after you have shown what you can do." He nudged at Yuuri. "You go out there with your rinkmates. I will be watching for any mistakes, don't hesitate to correct mistakes you see," he said sharply.

There was a chorus of groans from the other three and Yuuri hid a smile as he moved into the main group, all of them far enough apart so that they wouldn't run into each other, but close enough that they would be able to offer advice and a helping hand during practice.

Maybe he and Viktor could make this work after all.


End file.
